Chapter 79
* * *
Summer vacation had begun.
I looked out the window. The view was quite different from usual.
With students who should have been at school wandering around outside, it really felt like a holiday.
The holiday everyone spent resting and having fun had begun. On a day like that······.
“We’re almost out of fries back here!”
Someone called out impatiently from behind me.
I hurriedly turned around.
“Yes—I’m coming!”
I was in the middle of a long shift at my part-time job.
I stood in front of the fryer, sweating profusely as I fried the fries.
Wow.
Making money really wasn’t easy.
Since I was moving nonstop without a moment to rest, time flew by.
“···.”
When customers began leaving one by one,
I finally managed to get a short break.
“Phew···.”
I caught my breath and sat down on a chair in front of the employees’ break room.
“It’s pretty tough, isn’t it?”
When I turned my head in that direction, a girl was standing there.
Her name was Choi Suhyeon. She was a high school student one year younger than me.
“Here.”
She held out a disposable paper cup to me. It was filled with cola.
“···I’ll enjoy it.”
I gave a small nod and accepted the cola she offered.
Gulp, gulp—
I downed it in one go.
“Phew—”
I finally felt a little more alive.
“But is it really okay for me to drink this?”
I drank it because she gave it to me, but wasn’t it a store beverage?
Or was Choi Suhyeon paying for it herself?
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
She lightly shrugged her shoulders.
“The manager said we could have as many drinks as we wanted. Oh, but we can’t take them home—just drink as much as we need.”
“Really?”
It seemed to be a sort of employee benefit.
That was information I was hearing for the first time. Ha Seorim had never told me anything like that.
“Things are going to get even tougher from here on out. He said we should eat and keep our strength up.”
Her eyes took on a self-deprecating look.
Following her lead, I gave an awkward laugh. It wasn’t as though this had nothing to do with me.
“···.”
Tap tap—
Just then, I heard firm footsteps.
Ha Seorim approached with a sullen expression.
“···Don’t you have work to do?”
Ha Seorim stood stiffly between Choi Suhyeon and me.
“···.”
When I checked the time, exactly thirty minutes had passed—the length of my scheduled break.
How had the time gone by so quickly?
That aside, she was certainly thorough about keeping track of things.
She had come over exactly when my break was up.
“Up we go—.”
I immediately stood up and rolled my stiff neck from side to side.
I had been thinking of moving anyway.
“···.”
Ha Seorim nodded, then sharply turned her head to the left, toward Choi Suhyeon.
“If you’ve got nothing to do either, don’t just stand around here. The cups and lids are running low, so restock them in advance.”
“Uh··· okay, got it.”
Choi Suhyeon moved away to avoid the snippy Ha Seorim.
— “···Does Seorim have a thing for Seungho oppa?”
Choi Suhyeon muttered that thought as she walked away, but
that wasn’t it.
— “···.”
Ha Seorim’s Minimi shot me a sharp glare.
Its involvement wasn’t an expression of interest or affection, but of wariness.
— “He’s already hitting on girls···.”
“···.”
That was a somewhat unfair misunderstanding.
She was the one who came over first.
“···.”
I avoided Ha Seorim’s gaze and stepped out into the dining area.
Since I was out there anyway, I figured I might as well clean the floor.
— “I can’t take my eyes off him.”
Ha Seorim’s gaze followed me.
— “Girls like Suhyeon, who don’t know any better, might fall for him hook, line, and sinker.”
I had no intention of doing anything like that, though.
But Ha Seorim saw me that way.
She intended to keep watching me.
“···.”
As I cleaned the dining area, I looked at Ha Seorim returning to her work.
It was still okay for now. It wasn’t bothering me much.
Besides, I didn’t particularly want to bring up the past if I could help it.
But if this got worse, I supposed I would eventually have to clear up the misunderstanding with Ha Seorim.
Or perhaps I could simply wait for it to resolve itself naturally.
······
“Good work···!”
I changed into my regular clothes, looking exhausted.
It was finally time to go home.
Without exception, everyone finished getting ready to leave with faces worn out from fatigue.
Everyone worked faster than usual.
“···Good work.”
Ha Seorim gave a flat little bow and swept past me.
— “Hmph···.”
Her Minimi didn’t look like it thought I had worked hard at all.
Like a cat with its fur standing on end, it stuck out its tongue and fluttered it.
Maybe it was because the Minimi looked so tiny and cute, but rather than seeming angry, its behavior struck me as absurd.
“···.”
I gave a hollow laugh and started on my way home when
Ding—!
The phone in my pocket rang,
— [Isol : (sparkling-eyed hamster emoji)]
A message like that had arrived from her.
‘It’s already tomorrow.’
Come to think of it, I had made plans with Isol too.
I had been so busy that I’d hardly known what was going on.
If I wanted to wake up early tomorrow, I’d better get home and go to sleep quickly.
“···.”
Trudge, trudge—
I hurried my steps on the way home.
* * *
— [Lee Seungho : What time should we meet tomorrow?]
A text from Lee Seungho had arrived.
“Hmm···.”
Isol lay facedown on her bed, staring at the message as she pondered.
‘I do want to see him soon.’
It seemed better to meet in the morning than in the afternoon.
We could meet early and have lunch together.
Then, after spending the day together, if things went well, we could even stay out until dinner···.
“···.”
Ahem. That sounded like a good schedule.
Isol suppressed the smile trying to break out and bounced her feet. The blankets sank beneath them.
[How about meeting at 9? l ]
Isol typed that into the chat window, then
[At 9? l ]
Tap tap tap.
deleted it again.
‘Nine··· nine o’clock···.’
Isol narrowed her eyes. She folded her arms and groaned.
···Would she really be able to get up at that time?
That was what she was worried about.
She somehow managed to get to school, but this was an appointment scheduled for a weekend morning.
That was a different matter entirely.
“···.”
Isol made her decision. She cautiously opened her eyes.
She corrected the text and sent it again.
— [Isol : How about meeting at 10?]
Isol acknowledged and accepted her own nature.
She would definitely wake up late.
In that case, it would be better to push the schedule back a little.
“Hmm···!”
Isol abruptly sat up.
There was only one problem left now.
What should she wear tomorrow?
Clatter—!
Isol opened the closet door.
She had been buying clothes frequently lately, so the inside of the closet had grown even more stuffed.
‘If I’m going to dress up, I should wear the nicest thing I have.’
Isol laid out her clothes one after another and tried them on.
She twisted this way and that in front of the mirror.
“Hmm···.”
She tilted her head to one side.
‘···This isn’t quite right.’
It didn’t seem right.
Something about it failed to satisfy her.
It wasn’t that the clothes were ugly. She simply felt there might be something better.
Before she knew it, the clothes she had pulled out covered the entire bed.
“Ah···.”
Seeing them, Isol pressed down on her forehead.
When was she going to put all of this away?
The thought made her head throb again.
‘···Should I just search online?’
She had no idea what she was supposed to wear for something like this.
She turned on the internet, partly to see how other people dressed.
[What to wear on a date···.]
She stopped—
“···.”
Isol’s finger froze.
The words she had typed stared back at her.
Come to think of it,
this was a date.
She had told Lee Seungho that there was something she wanted to try and asked him to go out with her, but
‘That’s right.’
What they were doing tomorrow could certainly be called a date.
Writing it out herself in a text made the reality of it slowly begin to sink in.
“···.”
Isol fidgeted with her lips. A flush rose to her ears.
Flop—
This wasn’t the time for that. Once again, she ended up diving onto her bed.
***
The next day.
Murmur··· murmur···.
On a street where people came and went,
Isol sat alone on a bench near the subway station, staring blankly at the scenery.
Click— click—
She turned her phone screen on, then turned it off again.
Click— click—
She turned it on once more to check the time.
Click— click—
Just one more time.
“···.”
The current time was 9:30.
Time wasn’t passing.
In the end, she had arrived early.
She had simply woken up early without realizing it.
If she had known this would happen, she should have just suggested meeting at nine.
“Excuse me.”
Rather than sit here bored all alone, maybe she should look around the area.
“Excuse me···?”
No. It might be better to choose a place for lunch in advance.
Yes, that would be better···.
“Excuse meee.”
A hand waved back and forth in front of her face.
She wondered what was going on. It wasn’t Seungho.
Isol turned her head.
“Hello.”
A man stood there, giving her a fawning smile.
As expected, he was a stranger.
“How old are you, by any chance?”
“···.”
Anyone could tell he had come to hit on her. She had gotten caught up in an awkward situation.
Isol racked her brain, trying to figure out how to escape.
“···I’m a high school student.”
“Huh? Really? Me too. What grade are you in?”
She had expected him to back off if she said that. Instead, it had given him an opening.
Having found a point of common ground, he became even more forward.
“It’s because I really like you. If you don’t mind, could I ask for your number?”
“No.”
“···Ah, do you have a boyfriend?”
“···.”
Isol’s brow furrowed slightly at the question. It had upset her despite herself.
“If you don’t have a boyfriend—”
“Sol.”
A familiar voice.
At the rise and fall of that voice, Isol’s eyes widened.
Lee Seungho stood there, calmly blinking.
“Who is he? Do you know him?”
“No.”
Isol shook her head vigorously.
“Really? Then let’s go.”
“Okay.”
Isol quickly fell into step beside him.
The man who had approached her left awkwardly, but it wasn’t something she cared much about.
He had come and gone on his own terms. That was all there was to it.
Her mood, which had been gloomy just moments ago, returned as though nothing had happened.
A warm smile spread across her face.
“You came out early?”
Lee Seungho looked at her as they walked.
Isol gave an awkward laugh.
“It just happened.”
“You didn’t wait long, did you?”
“I haven’t been waiting long.”
In truth, she had waited for over thirty minutes, but she decided to keep that a secret.
If she told him for no reason, he would obviously feel bad.
“···.”
Lee Seungho’s expression twisted slightly.
Had he noticed?
“···But are you really sure this is okay?”
“What is?”
Isol blinked and tilted her head.
“···No, it’s just that you said this was your first time.”
“It’s something I’ve wanted to try. And there’s no one else who could help me except you.”
Tap-tap-tap—
Isol took the lead, walking quickly toward their destination.
The place she had made plans to visit with him was somewhere she had wanted to go together with him.
···An ice rink.
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(!Sign!)
(AI illustration if you scroll down!)
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(Isol Date NEW)
(Isol Twin Tails 1)
(Isol Twin Tails 2)